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Le Ruisseau (The Stream) begins as orphan girl Gaby Sylvia escapes from her guardians and stows away on board a ship. She is discovered by officer Paul Cambo, thereby launching a brief shipboard affair. Feeling a bit guilty about taking advantage of the girl's naivete, Cambo sends the girl to live with his actress mother Francoise Rosay. Taking a liking to Sylvia, Rosay helps the girl launch her show-business career, but does an about-face when she discovers that the girl has slept with her son. Shuttled back to the orphanage, Sylvia escapes once more, finding work at a dime-a-dance joint. By the time Cambo catches up with her again, Sylvia has really "been around" and is on the verge of becoming a streetwalker. Rescuing her from this fate, Cambo patches things up between Sylvia and his mother, and a happy ending is had by all (finally!) Michel Simon steals the show as a photographer of "feelthy" postcards.